Electrical paint remover



March 4, 1952 WALTER 2,588,185

ELECTRICAL PAINT REMOVE R Filed May 2', 1950 IN V EN T 0R. THEODORE B. WAL TEE A T TOIENE'YS Patented Mar. 4, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRICAL PAINT REMOVER Theodore B. Walter, Oberlin, Ohio Application May 2, 1950, Serial No. 159,525

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates broadly to electric paint burners and more specifically to improvements in the heating element and the structure of the housing therefor.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a heating element which is of the tubular type that does not short circuit the electric system when adjacent loops or convolutions thereof are bridged by a metallic body. Heating elements of this character are frequently employed in electric stoves, one form thereof being commercially known under the trade-mark Calrod.

Further objects of the invention reside in the provision of a housing which is designed to defiect the heat generated therein upon the subjacent surface of the work, a heating element which may be supported in self-sustained spaced relation with the walls of the housing and the work, and a housing which will restrain undue thermal losses during the operation thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide an electric paint burner which is relatively thin and flat so the tool may be inserted in narrow openings, such, for example, as the gap between a wall and a downspout or column.

Another object of the invention is to provide a paint burner having an opening in the leading edge thereof and a lineal section of the heating element disposed across such opening so that the heat therefromwill flow beyond the housing and thus increase the effective area of the burner.

Further objects of the invention reside in the provision of a paint burner which is light in weight, efiicient of operation, economic of manufacture, and a design which will eliminate the fire hazard created by an open flame or injury resulting from a short circuit in the heating element.

Other objects and advantages, more or less ancillary to the foregoing, and the manner in which all the various objects are realized will appear in the following description, which, considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, sets forth the preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in burner;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the bottom face thereof;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view through the burner. the section being taken on a plane indicated by theline 33 in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view through the burner taken on a plane indicated by the line 4-4 in Fig. 2.

perspective of the improved Referring first to Fig. 4, the paint burner comprises generally a shallow prismoidal body constituting a housing formed with narrow marginal ribs around three sides of the lower face thereof, an electric heating element in the recess defined by the ribs, and a handle on the upper the side walls, and the flange on the outer shell overlying the inner shell flange and being welded or otherwise affixed thereto. The sides of the housing are drawn from the top panels l5, the forward edge of the outer panel being folded downwardly to form a wall [5 closing the void in the top of the housing and being folded inwardly to provide a ledge I! for the support of the top panel of the inner shell.

The heating element I8 is formed with a lineal section adjacent to and parallel with the forward open end of the housing, the remaining portion thereof being looped back and forth between the confines of the marginal ribs 19 to provide a uniform heating area. The looped portions of the heating element are disposed in a common horizontal plane arranged in spaced relation with the lower face of the top of the inner shell H and the lower face of the flange 13 thereof. The heating element is of the tubular type that will not short circuit the electric system when adjacent loops thereof are bridged by a conductive metallic body. The high resistance electrical conductor is disposed within the tubular shroud and insulated therefrom electrically by a heat conducting material such as magnesia, Alundum or lava. Heating elements of this form are customarily employed as the so-called burner in an electric stove. In the preferred embodiment the tube I8 is flattened, the major axes of the transverse section thereof being disposed in the horizontal plane of the heater.

The flange 13 of the inner shell is formed with protruding hemispherical bosses 20 arranged in spaced relation with each other and provided to minimize the areas of contact of the heated metal rim of the burner with the painted surface of the work.

The current to the heating element is carried by an electric cord or usual form which may be either directly attached to the heater or coupled therewith through a plug 2| of any commercial form. The handle embodies a pair of sheet metal brackets 22 mounted in spaced relation on the upper face of the rearward portion of the outer shell II, the outer ends of the brackets being embedded in a molded grip 23 protruding upwardly and rearwardly from the body of the burner.

In operation after the element I8 is heated to incandescence, the burner is held with the bosses 20 infirm contact with the painted surface of the work to be cleaned. While in this position the operator may observe the effects of the heat through the open forward end of the housing and remove the burner when the paint blisters or shows other evidence of plasticity. The open forward side of the burner and the lineal section of the heating element therein facilitate radiation of the heat an appreciable distance in advance of the tool, hence, as found, in practice, confrontingledgesand surfaces beneath obstructions too close to admit the ehtry of the housing may be effectively heated without injury to the surface enveloped by the burner.

From the foregoing description it will be recog: nized that the burner is relatively light in weight and may therefore be used with less fatigue than a blow torch or similar instrument; that the heating element will produce a higher temperature than the wire coils heretofore in use in electric burners; that the hazard of injury due to short circuiting of the heating element is eliminated; and that economy of time may be realized in the use of the improved burner since the surface of the work to be cleaned is directly exposed to the rays of the incandescent heater tube.

Although the foregoing description is necessarily of a detailed character, in order that the invention may be completely set forth, it is to be understood that the specific terminology is not intended to be restrictive or confining, and that various rearrangements of parts and modifications of detail may be resorted to without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention as herein claimed.

I claim:

1. Anelectric paint burner comprising a rectangular shell, three depending side walls thereon forming a housing having one side open, a handle affixed to said shell opposite to said open side,

an electric fiat tubular heating element having housing, said portion extending along a substan-,

4 tial part of the opening between said side walls whereby radiant heat from the element is directed and confined to a surface for paint burning and projected from the housing through the open side thereof to pre-heat the surface to be burned.

2. An electric paint burner comprising a rectangular shell, three depending side walls thereon forming a housing having one side open, a handle affixed to said shell opposite to said open side, an electric flat tubular heating element having an electrical conductor therein insulated electrically from the covering tube, said element being supported by one of said side walls and having a portion thereof parallel to the edge of the plate adjacent the open side of the housing, said portion extending along a substantial part of the opening between said side walls whereby radiant heat from the element is directed and confined to a surface for paint burning and projected from the housing through the openv side thereof to preheat the surface to be burned.

3. An electric paint burner comprising arectangular shell, three depending side walls thereon forming a housing having one side open, said shell and said walls being insulated toprevent loss of heat from the housing, a handle afiixed to said shell opposite to said open side, an electric flat tubular heating element having an. electrical conductor therein insulated electrically from the covering tube, said element being sup,- ported by one of said side .walls and having a portion adjacent the open side of the housing, said portion extending along a substantial part of the opening between said side walls whereby radiant heat from the element is directed and confined to a surface for paint burning and.

' ,file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name, Date 7,

2,038,555 Eidschun Apr. 28, 1936 2,448,757 Alban Sept. 7, 1948:

2,477,226 Ashton, ,July, 26., 1949- FQREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 558,391' Great Britain Jan. 4, 19.44. 621,792, France. ,May 17, 19271 

